Smooth ride into Gurgaon’s heart

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) completes one year of operation in Gurgaon on Tuesday.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) completes one year of operation in Gurgaon on Tuesday.

The Metro has brought a revolutionary change in the way people commute in the Millennium City, which has been facing the perennial problem of an ineffective public transport system. The public response to the Metro has been immense.

Beginning with a footfall of just 36,000 on June 21 last year, the average daily ridership on the Qutab Minar-Huda City Centre stretch has touched 1.3 lakh.

The number of daily passengers is still below the expectation of 1.6 lakh, but the rush continues to rise during peak hours despite the addition of 26 new six-coach trains to the fleet.

Inadequate parking space at Metro stations and lack of regulated feeder services such as bus, auto-rickshaws and taxis fail to deter many for whom the service is the easiest mode of transport.

“It is the easiest mode of transport whenever I have to travel to Delhi or any other place outside Gurgaon. This is the only mode of transport in Gurgaon and the most comfortable one. It has made the city very accessible,” said 23-year-old Aishwariya Shah, a corporate communications executive.

“The Metro makes my life so much easier. The ladies' compartment is much safer,” said Takshila Arora, a student. According to DMRC officials, the onus of making Metro trains more useful for people is now on the Haryana government. “It has been one year but the state government has not provided the public modes of transport to make them reach Metro stations,” said Daljit Singh who earlier headed the Delhi-Gurgaon Metro line project.